Plane Crash In Taiwan Kills Dozens, Leaving Some Survivors

Rescue crews work on the wreckage of TransAsia Airways Flight GE222, which crashed while attempting to land in stormy weather on the Taiwanese island of Penghu, late Wednesday.

Wong Yao-wen
/ AP

Originally published on July 23, 2014 1:53 pm

A domestic flight in Taiwan that was attempting to land in bad weather brought on by a strong typhoon Wednesday night crashed near the runway, killing as many as 47 of the 58 people aboard, according to multiple media outlets.

About a dozen survivors have reportedly been taken to local hospitals; the plane reportedly had 54 passengers and a crew of four.

From Kuala Lumpur, NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports:

"The Transasia Airways turboprop plane took off from the southern city of Kaohsiung. It was headed for Magong, the only city in the Penghu Islands off Taiwan's west coast.

"Civil Aviation Director Jean Shen told reporters that the plane crashed in a village just beyond the airport's runway. Authorities have sealed off the area, where local media report that passengers' bodies could be seen scattered about."

"Typhoon Matmo had just blown out to sea after having closed schools and stock markets on Taiwan. It's not known if the crash was related to this."

The plane's departure reportedly had been delayed by about an hour and 45 minutes Wednesday because of bad weather. Before it crashed, the flight's pilots had requested a second landing attempt, officials told the Taipei Times.